Join us on October 2nd & 3rd in Calgary!
Register now for early bird!
EARLY BIRD TICKETS ON NOW!
Your early bird ticket purchase includes the networking event on October 2nd from 5pm-8pm and the all day conference on October 3rd starting at 9am. Receive nearly 30% in discounts if you purchase between April 28th and June 6th 2025.
DEAM IDEA Conference
In celebration of Disability Employment Awareness Month, Alberta Employment First Network (AEFN) is pleased to present the fourth annual DEAM IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility) Conference in Calgary at the Telus Convention Centre on October 3rd. This conference will provide attendees with the opportunity to build upon their knowledge of inclusive and equitable employment and recruitment. Attendees will walk away with actionable steps they can use in their communities and workplaces. Get your workplace ready to hire people with disabilities in every industry, role, and help make sure the work is sustainable and promotes career development based on the interest of the individual. The 2025 conference call to action is "Authenticity in Action".
Support the 2025 DEAM IDEA Conference
We are looking for businesses interested in supporting an initiative that focuses on improving employment circumstances for people with disabilities in Alberta. By sponsoring the DEAM IDEA Conference, you will be a part of an event that puts stories from the community of folks with disabilities at the forefront. Backed up by tangible resources that employers can use to create inclusive and accessible workplaces, this event is not one to miss.
One of our sponsors from 2023, EmployAbilities, let us know that they were “pleased to sponsor the 2023 DEAM IDEA Conference. The 2023 DEAM IDEA Conference featured inspiring stories from advocates and people with lived experience with disabilities, speeches from representatives of senior levels of government, and was attended by employers, allowing us to raise our awareness and profile with these key stakeholders. We’re grateful that the DEAM IDEA Conference exists and encourage other organizations to get involved as a sponsor, attend, and learn more."
Who's at the conference?
Keynote Speaker
Dr. Kathleen C. Sitter, PhD, RSW, is the Canada Research Chair in Multisensory Storytelling in Research and Knowledge Translation, a Dorothy Killam Fellow, and a Professor in the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Calgary. She also holds an adjunct appointment in Community Health and Humanities at the Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University.
Dr. Sitter works in close collaboration with disabled and neurodivergent communities using multisensory and arts-based research methods. Her work integrates visual, auditory, tactile, and olfactory storytelling to support inclusive approaches to knowledge sharing, policy development, and systems change. Her work contributes to reshaping how research is done with communities—emphasizing meaningful engagement, reciprocity, and the creation of more inclusive futures.
Grounded in disability justice, participatory research, and community-led design, Dr. Sitter’s projects focus on improving access, transitions, and experiences across systems that impact disabled people’s lives, including healthcare, employment, training, education, and social policy. Her work has been published in international journals, and she has led over 200 multisensory initiatives—including theatre, film, photography, soundscapes, and smellscapes—which have been featured in more than 100 invited and juried exhibitions.
Afternoon workshop
Looking for a well rounded session that includes everything you need to know about the lifecycle of an employee with a disability? Employers this one's for you!
At the 2025 DEAM IDEA Conference our facilitator Rosanna Mascarenhas will be leading an all encompassing workshop that walks attendees through the need-to-knows of applying, interviewing, onboarding, and working as an employee with a disability across a wide range of industries.
This session will include a handbook, information from the community of people with disabilities in Calgary and round table conversations to learn from folks in the sector who help hire people with disabilities. If you're an employer and wondering where to start with hiring people with disabilities - this is a great place to be!
Our exhibitors!
Vecova is a leading edge organization that has been meeting the lifelong and changing needs of persons with disabilities since 1969 through our programs and services, social research, innovation and enterprises. Notably, our Employment Services team is committed to breaking down barriers to employment. We believe that everyone who is ready, willing, and able to work should have the opportunity to do so. We offer a comprehensive range of services tailored to youth with barriers to employment, adults with developmental disabilities, as well as our newest service supporting newcomers to Canada facing intersectional barriers to employment.
Through the power of work, Goodwill provides individuals with disabilities or barriers to employment the opportunity to enhance their lives. Goodwill will be recognized as a leader for the provision of employment opportunities for people with disabilities or barriers to employment through best practices in community and environmental stewardship. They are a people oriented, purpose driven enterprise. "Our pillars are People, Profit with Purpose and the Planet."
Since 1989, MCG Careers has been providing Career and Employment Services to Albertans across the province. Their organizational philosophy emphasizes client-focus and result-orientation; this philosophy has resulted in increased working partnerships with community agencies and employers, allowing us to provide a full continuum of client services.
Programs and services are crafted and delivered via the principle of guiding clients through an individualized, customized, realistic, and supported developmental process toward independence, and goal accomplishment.
AWES is a non-profit organization dedicated to workplace skills training, research, and curriculum development. We specialize in developing customized skills training solutions for employers, organizations, and practitioners that respond to workplace skills needs. As leaders in essential skills training and development, we’ve been serving communities at the local, provincial, and national levels for over 30 years.
Canadian Partners in Workforce Innovation (CAN WiN) is a federally funded program operated by Open Door Group that helps employers meet workforce needs in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Manitoba, and Ontario. Comprised of a team of Inclusive Workforce Specialists, CAN WiN provides inclusive recruitment, training, retention, and consulting services to support employers in hiring and retaining job seekers with disabilities.
Our sponsors!
A close collaborator of ours that offers great services is this year's DEAM IDEA Conference Lunch Reception Sponsor.
MentorAbility is a national initiative that creates mutual mentorship opportunities for people experiencing disability. This initiative is built on a supported employment foundation that promotes the recruitment, employment, and retention of people experiencing disability. If you're an employer, get involved by becoming a mentor.
SupportABILITY by CBI Health - our breakfast reception sponsor - is a free, comprehensive employment service for folks living with mental health issues or neurodivergence—diagnosed or self-diagnosed—or disabilities, and who face multiple barriers to employment. As Canada's most trusted name in community health care, CBI Health believes a holistic view of health for everyone must include vocational health. SupportABILITY's tailored-to-you and evidence-based program is back by 28 clinical trials and over 25 years of experience helping jobseekers and employers achieve sustainable employment outcomes.
Deaf & Hear Alberta is our Accessibility (ASL) sponsor. Thank you for supporting us for the second year! DHA is "pushing for a proactive way to make sure ALL information can be accessed by ALL people in Alberta". In Alberta, there are around 40,000 Deaf people and about 1.2 million people who are hard of hearing or late deafened.
They offer :
💫 Services and technology choices for Deaf and hard-of-hearing Albertans
💫 Programs and education for everyone to improve fair communication
